Small Business News: Legal Tips for the Small Business Owner

Small Business Trends

Jan. 19, 2011, 11:00 PM

Legal basics are important when building and running your small business. Legal issues related to your business could include resources, tips, legal advice and government policy and may depend on where your business is located. We've collected some links relevant for at least most businesses here in the U.S. and perhaps even beyond. Let this be a starting point for thinking about issues related to your small business.

Startup Basics

Where to incorporate your business. Forget the question of whether you should incorporate your small business or not. We're assuming you already know the answer to that. Incorporating certainly provides certain benefits but when it comes to incorporating another important consideration is geography. So the question is, where will you incorporate? Under 30 CEO

Using trademarks for your small business. Does your small business have a trademark or other intellectual property in which you've created value and which your customers associate with your product or service. Don't have this value stolen away or alternately find yourself in a suit defending your right to use your trademark in a dispute with another business. This podcast helps you navigate the minefield of trademark and other intellectual property use by your small business. Give a listen. Chicago Legal Latte

Resources

Some legal resources for your small business online. Online legal info may not be quite the same as calling an attorney for a consultation, but for a lot of your little questions, especially in the early stages, many of the questions you have can be researched online. If you are just getting started and are short of money to start your business, you may want to try some of these options for getting legal information before going on the clock. SuperMedia Blog

Your obligations regarding customer data. How much customer data do your think your small business collects from customers. Stop and think about it for a minute. What are your responsibilities when handling that data? Do you know? The fact is that many businesses today deal heavily with information. If you haven't established a procedure for how you deal with your customer's information, it may be time to start. writword communications

Advice

Corporation or Limited Liability Company? What is the difference between these two kinds of company organizations and what do they mean in regards to personal guarantees? These are the guarantees that an owner may from time to time make to guarantee the debts of a corporation or LLC. But why would a small business owner ever make such an agreement when the purpose of incorporation is to protect personal assets. Chicago Legal Latte

Taxes

The IRS could use some training in customer service. The IRS's Small Business/Self-Employed (SB/SE) Division needs some help learning how to serve the small business and self-employed communities better. The agency is studying how to improve education and service when it comes to the small business and self-employed community. The hope is to narrow the 'tax gap' of unreported income in this group. Lawyers.com

Policy

U.S. House launches challenge to healthcare reform. Republicans in the U.S. House made good on a campaign pledge to vote on repeal of the Affordable Care Act which is opposed by many small business owners. A recent survey indicates that most small business owners favor the repeal which they believe would increase costs, however, the move is likely to be blocked in the Senate. The Ticket

Small business groups support U.S. Healthcare law's repeal. Organizations like the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council are pushing for the healthcare reform legislation repeal calling it bad for small business and job creation too. The law requires most citizens to purchase health insurance and requires many small business who do not already to either purchase healthcare coverage for employees or face a penalty. Fox Business

Liability

Harsh weather can bring small business liability. You may think of winter weather as a problem for commuting to work, but have you ever considered it as a liability to your small business too? It could be, reports business writer Joyce M. Rosenberg. Here are some ways in which bad weather conditions can turn into liability issues very quickly winter arrives. So next time a winter storm is looming think about your liability exposure. LATimes.com

Tips

Know the basics for your small business. Whether it's legal issues or something else that lies outside your comfort zone, it's a good idea to know some details about running your business even if you plan to hire legal counsel or other consultants to do some of the work. Columnist and small business advisor Gladys Edmunds tells us an important lesson she learned from her grandmother about knowing how to do a bit of everything…and how it will help you in the long run. USA Today